Original Article East Valley news briefs Apr. 12, 2006 12:00 AM Mesa man gets 3 years for trying to make ricin MESA -A Mesa man accused of trying to make the biological toxin ricin was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton handed down the sentence against Casey Cutler, 25, who pleaded guilty in February. Tests showed Cutler didn't make ricin but had tried to by boiling castor oil. Officials said his sentence was mitigated because the recipe he was using could not have made ricin, he assisted authorities in the cleanup of his apartment, and tried to make the ricin for his own protection. In June, FBI agents searched his Mesa apartment after his former roommate showed up at a local hospital saying he was ill and afraid he had been exposed to ricin.